THE PLANT'S

All the plants listed below have proved hardy in my garden tolerating temperatures as low as -9c with a wind chill of much lower. The thing they all have in common is the tropical effect they lend to the landscape. It still amazes me that banana plants can be grown outside all year round in England, the "wow" factor they add to the garden is priceless !

The list that follows are some of my favourite plants .....

Musa Basjoo (Japanese Banana)

A dramatic plant even when young each apple green coloured leaf can reach two metres long. Root hardy to minus five degrees. If the leaves are removed before the first frosts and the stem protected it will regrow from the top in the spring.

Musa Basjoo

Trachycarpus Fortunei (Chusan Palm )

A really tropical looking plant that in its native China is usually found growing in mixed forests up to altitudes of 2400 metres so will tolerate temperatures as low as minus fifteen degrees. It is evergreen and is a must for any exotic garden. (Introduced by Robert Fortune read of his adventures in the Orient on his own page.)

Cordyline Australis (Torquay Palm )

Native to New Zealand this plant produces elegant palm like foliage and older specimans will produce pinacles of creamy white flowers in summer. The trunk of the plant splays out at the base and has deep fissure cracked bark. In good conditions it may reach seven metres tall but is usually shorter. Hardy to minus ten degrees.

Cordyline Australis

Phormium Cookianum (Mountain Flax )

Luxuriant looking explosion of long lush leaves with the bonus of yellow flowers on 1.5 metre spikes. Native to New Zealand. Hardy to minus seven degrees.

Phormium Cookianum

Chamaerops Humilis (European Fan Palm )

Europes only native palm tree, grows into a multi headed clump of fan shaped leaves which flutter in strong breezes adding further interest. Hardy to minus ten degrees.

Chamaerops Humilis

Dicksonia Antarctica (Soft Tree Fern )

This stunning fern from Tasmania can reach a height and spread of four metres. The trunks are thick fibrous and composed of columns of roots which should be kept moist. Hardy to minus five degrees, protect the trunk with fleece and the crown with straw for insurance against the cold. Utter beauty for shady areas of the garden. [ Additional info + Applet ]

Dicksonia Antarctica

Fatsia Japonica (False Castor Oil Plant )

Huge shiny lobey leaves this shrub from East Asia has the added bonus of unusual flowers similar to that of ivy in the autumn. Hardy to minus ten degrees it can be planted in sun or shade. A very adaptable plant.

Fatsia Japonica

All the listed plants create a very lush effect which can be enhanced with summer bedding of suitable plants that need winter protection such as datura with its wonderful 20cm flowers.

Small gardens that often accompany modern houses are particularly suited to this type of gardening due to the high density of houses having the effect of providing some protection from the elements, and in winter keeping the temperature several degrees warmer than exposed sites.

So if you want a garden that looks good summer and winter try some of the plants, you may be pleasantly suprised by the result.

Datura

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